Roberta Flack’s final Instagram post before she died was a sweet tribute to Celine Dion.

The legendary singer passed away on Monday at the age of 88 in Manhattan after suffering a heart attack. 

Only three days before her tragic death, Roberta expressed admiration for Celine Dion, who is 56 years old. She shared a video of the Canadian singer singing a cover of her famous song, “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face.”

The clip showed Celine in a sleek red dress taking to the stage during her television special, All the Way… A Decade of Song back in November 1999.

The show, which was broadcast by CBS, saw Celine dedicate her rendition to Roberta, which became an international hit for the late star in 1972 – three years after she first released her version.  

Alongside the video, Roberta penned: ‘I’m touched and thrilled to share this clip of the wondrous Celine Dion adding her luminous shine to “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face.” Thank you Celine for your love! Xoxo R.’

Roberta Flack’s final Instagram post before she died was a sweet tribute to Celine Dion

Just three days before her death, Roberta heaped praised on the ‘wonderous’ Celine, 56, sharing a video of the Canadian singer covering her track, The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face

The post was met with a number of positive comments from fans, praising both ladies renditions of the emotional song – which was originally written in 1957 by British political singer-songwriter Ewan MacColl for his then lover Peggy Seeger.

One fan penned: ‘Thank you for sharing this, Ms. Flack. I’ve never seen this version, and gosh, what a beautiful tribute to your song.’

While another wrote: ‘Celine is a super human being! And her voice like Roberta’s is incomparable.’ 

Roberta’s representatives announced her passing but did not offer a cause of death, as reported by Variety. 

‘We are heartbroken that the glorious Roberta Flack passed away this morning, February 24, 2025,’ her representatives said in a statement issued on Monday.

‘She died peacefully surrounded by her family. Roberta broke boundaries and records. She was also a proud educator.’

Flack’s friend and manager Suzzaner Koga told The New York Times the singer died on her way to the hospital after suffering cardiac arrest.  

Flack announced in 2022 she had ALS, commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, and could no longer sing.

The clip showed Celine in a sleek red dress taking to the stage during her television special, All the Way… A Decade of Song back in November 1999

The show, which was broadcast by CBS, saw Celine dedicate her rendition to Roberta, which became a huge hit for the late star in 1972 – three years after she first released her version

Roberta penned: ‘I’m touched and thrilled to share this clip of the wondrous Celine Dion adding her luminous shine to “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face.” Thank you Celine for your love! Xoxo R’

The Grammy-winning singer and pianist’s intimate vocal and musical style made her one of the top recordings artists of the 1970s and an influential performer long after.

Flack became an overnight star after Clint Eastwood used The First Time I Ever Saw Your Face as the soundtrack for one of cinema’s more memorable and explicit love scenes, between the actor and Donna Mills in his 1971 film Play Misty for Me.’ 

The hushed, hymn-like ballad, with Flack’s graceful soprano afloat on a bed of soft strings and piano, topped the Billboard pop chart in 1972 and received a Grammy for record of the year. 

In 1973, she matched both achievements with Killing Me Softly With His Song, becoming the first artist to win consecutive Grammys for best record. 

Flack’s other hits from the 1970s included the cozy Feel Like Makin’ Love and two duets with her close friend and former Howard University classmate Donny Hathaway, Where Is the Love and The Closer I Get to You — a partnership that ended in tragedy. 

The legendary singer passed away on Monday at the age of 88 in Manhattan after suffering a heart attack  [pictured in 2020]

The 1970s R&B legend was known for hits like Killing Me Softly With His Song and The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face. She is pictured in 1971

In 1979, she and Hathaway were working on an album of duets when he suffered a breakdown during recording and later that night fell to his death from his hotel room in Manhattan. 

She never matched her first run of success, although she did have a hit in the 1980s with the Peabo Bryson duet Tonight, I Celebrate My Love and in the 1990s with the Maxi Priest duet Set the Night to Music. 

In the mid-90s, Flack received new attention after the Fugees recorded a Grammy-winning cover of Killing Me Softly, which she eventually performed on stage with the hip-hop group. 

Overall, she won five Grammys (three for Killing Me Softly), was nominated eight other times and was given a lifetime achievement Grammy in 2020, with John Legend and Ariana Grande among those praising her.